Sweet Shadows
by TheBlackCat01
Summary: The shadows had always embraced me. I never knew why, until I was captured by the Imperials as I tried to cross into Skyrim to track my mother. This is my story. This is how I found my family. This is my curse... This is my story... Eventual Brynjolf/Dragonborn. There will be a lot of adult themes, what with Molag Bal. Please Read and Review!


**Hey, all! BlackCat here! Welcome to my new story! I hope that you all like it. It's basically my main character in Skyrim and her backstory and such (or at least as much as I would love it to be). Hope you all enjoy this! And I'll deffo be trying as hard with this as I am with The Flaw of Mine.**

 **Anywho's, enjoy!**

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The darkness had always embraced me, for reasons I never knew. At least, that was until I was trying to cross the border into Skyrim, and ended up walking straight into an Imperial trap. I knew that they'd taken me, and suspected I was with the Stormcloaks.  
I'd heard them discussing it before they knocked me unconscious. Now my head felt like lead, and I was only just coming too, being woken by the sharp movements of whatever I was sat on.

I lifted my heavy lids and almost screamed at the intensity of the sunlight. I quickly shut my eyes again and shook my head little to try and wake up and stop the glare from hurting my eyes. I tried to lift my hand to rub at my sore eyes, only to find  
that my hands had been bound. I growled lightly but lifted my head and fluttered my eyes open.

My vision was met with a blond Stormcloak soldier, also bound; sat across from me. When he saw that I'd woken, he smiled a little before speaking in a rolling, purr, that I found most Nord men have. "Hey, you." He addressed me. "You're finally awake.  
You were trying to cross the border, right?" I nodded gently at him before my attention was stolen by the man sat beside him.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along." He practically spat, making the blonde before me curl his upper lip and roll his eyes. "Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been  
halfway to Hammerfell." He turned to me before speaking again. "You there... You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants." He looked tired; worn and ragged with his brown hair messed all around.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The blonde mumbled ruggedly. He wasn't happy with this predicament.

I started at the sudden and sharp "Shut up back there!" that the Imperial soldier driving the carriage shouted over his shoulder at us, driving us over a particularly large bump in the road.

"And what's with him, huh?" The horse thief muttered, lifting his chin and indicating to the gagged and bound man beside me. The blonde's eyes went a little wide, and he took a sharp intake of breath, as if he'd been personally insulted.

"Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." He all but hissed at the thief. The thief looked truly shocked, almost as if someone had slapped him.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm?" he asked the blonde, "You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you..." Sudden realisation shook him, and wracked through me. "Oh gods, where are they taking us?" he asked, panicked.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." The blonde Stormcloak said sombrely.

"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening." The horse thief muttered, dropping his head and shuddering with fear. It was quiet for a short time before the blonde looked over to the ragged thief and sighed heavily.

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" he asked. The thief's head whipped round to the blonde and he seemed to try and shoot daggers from his eyes at him.

"Why do you care?" he grumbled miserably. Turning his head away shortly.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." The Stormcloak uttered carefully.

The horse thief sighed heavily before speaking. "Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead." We were heading towards a small town by this point. The blonde seemed to be content with the horse thief's answer and opened his mouth to speak, before he was interrupted  
by one of the Imperial's escorting the line of carriages to the end of the line.

"General Tullius, sir!" The soldier shouted, "The headsman is waiting!" I swallowed the harsh lump that formed in my throat as the General responded.

"Good. Let's get this over with." The General rumbled. The horse thief started to panic again, as if he could stop this.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me." He prayed. The blonde soldier shook his head and curled his lip in a sneer again.

"Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor." He said with disgust. "And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this." He consulted himself. "This is Helgen." He suddenly said with realisation,  
as we crossed through the gate into the town. "I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

I looked at the Stormcloak with furrowed eyebrows, silently agreeing at least partially with what he was saying. We were moving past some houses by now, families congregating on their porches to see us all paraded down to what was clearly the headsman's  
block. "Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?" one young boy asked his father as we neared the end of the trail.

"You need to go inside, little cub." The father told his son.

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers." The boy answered back. A small smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth, a sad sort of regret forming in my gut.

"Inside the house. Now." His father told him firmly, pushing himinto the house and away from the view.

"Yes, papa." The child answered with a heavy sigh. The cart was starting to slow, signalling the end of our ride.

"Whoa!" the Imperial driving our carriage called, pulling the horses and the cart up to a shuddering stop, throwing us around a little and knocking a gasp of air out of my due to discomfort. I heard the others before I saw them.

"Get those prisoners out of the carts." A female Imperial ordered; clearly some kind of captain. "Move it!" she shouted after figuring we weren't moving fast enough.

"Why are we stopping?" the horse thief panicked.

"Why do you think?" the Stormcloak asked him. "End of the line. Let's go." He said standing up and preparing himself to hop down. "Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." He seemed calm but his heartbeat belied his true fear.

"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" the horse thief cried as two guards dragged us down from the carriage.

"Face your death with some courage, thief." The blonde Stormcloak soldier told him.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" the ragged thief cried to the Stormcloaks around us.

The female Imperial Captain rolled her eyes and shook her head but spoke regardless. "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." She motioned briefly to the Imperial Soldier beside her with a board and quill.

"Empire loves their damn lists." The Stormcloak, now stood beside me, mumbled under his breath.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." The soldier spoke, crossing of a name from his list as Ulfric moved over towards the headsman's block.

"It has been an honour, Jarl Ulfric!" The Stormcloak soldier called proudly.

"Ralof of Riverwood." The blonde Stormcloak, now known as Ralof, moved away and another name was crossed from the list. "Lokir of Rorikstead."The horse thief moved forward but instead of moving towards the block, he tried to plead with the Imperials.

"No, I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" he shouted at them before making a break for it and running up the hill.

"Halt!" the Captain shouted, lifting her arm to try and signal at him.

"You're not going to kill me!" he shouted, not slowing down at all.

"Archers!" the Captain shouted, splaying her hand and bringing it back down in one swift movement, signalling to the guards above to fire at him. I heard the arrows set loose and turned my heard away, closing my eyes and flinching as the arrows struck  
home. She turned around after he hit the ground and addressed the rest of us as Lokir's name was struck form the list. "Anyone else feel like running?" She asked with a smirk before the other soldier looked at me.

"Wait. You there." He addressed me. "Step forward. Who are you?" He asked me narrowing his eyes slightly as I took a couple of cautious steps forward. As I stepped out of the shade brought on by the wall towering behind me, the sunlight truly set off  
my pale skin, and set off my raven curtain of hair.

I blinked the sharp sunlight out of my amethyst eyes, and shook my head, shifting my waist length hair from straight down my back, knocking a few stands over my shoulder. The sun was starting to set, so the shadows cast across the ground seemed longer  
than ever and all the more comforting to me. "My name is Nyx Evergleam. I was born here in Skyrim 20 years ago, before my father took my across the border and raised me in Skingrad. I was only trying to get back into Skyrim to meet my grandparents."

The soldier nodded before writing something on his list. "You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinsman." He told me sombrely. I sighed and nodded, curling my upper lip into a sneer, revealing one slightly longer and sharper canine extending over  
my bottom teeth. "Captain. What should we do? She's not on the list." I rolled my eyes as he asked the question, almost immediately knowing what the answer would be.

"Forget the list. She goes to the block." The Captain spoke harshly, waving a dismissive hand. The soldier nodded and sighed again.

"By your orders, Captain. I'm sorry. At least you'll die here in you homeland. Follow the Captain, prisoner." He told me, ushering me towards the congregation around the block.

"Ulfric Stormcloak." The man I assumed was General Tullius spoke, addressing the Jarl. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero." He was building up to something. "But a hero doesn't use a power like The Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." There  
was a dark glare in the General's eyes, but all Ulfric could do was grunt. Tullius plunged on ahead with his speech regardless. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace."  
He ended on a high. I could all but hear the pure excitement cursing through the surrounding civilians.

An odd sound off in the distance made us all falter a little, drawing looks of confusion from us in our small crowd. "What was that?" the soldier who had been taking names asked.

"It's nothing. Carry on." Ordered General Tullius, he was trying to appear strong, but my ears picked up the slight panicked increase in his pulse.

"Yes, General Tullius." The female captain nodded to him before turning to a Priestess of Arkay and issuing her a single order. "Give them their last rites."

The Priestess nodded before stepping forward and raising her arms. "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved-"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with." said a red headed Stormcloak soldier, entirely cutting the Priestess off in her blessing. She scowled at him but made no attempt to start the prayer again.

"As you wish." She mumbled darkly, turning away and walking back to the Imperial congregation.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning." The Stormcloak grumbled loudly as the Imperials pushed him to his knees before the block. Once he was in place on the block, he spoke again, louder enough for us all to hear him. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials.  
Can you say the same?" We never got to hear their response, as the headsman's axe fell on the soldier's head, tearing cleanly through the flesh and cleaving his head off and into the waiting basket.

The scent of the blood assaulted my nose and my eyes rolled back into my head as I took a deep breath in. I almost missed everything else that was said; a brief call from a female Stormcloak among us screaming "You Imperial bastards!" , closely followed  
by calling from the crowd of "Justice!" and "Death to the Stormcloaks!" All these voices sounded so far away as the scent of the blood and the sight of it made my stomach ache and nearly send me sprawling. I was so dazed that Ralof's strong voice  
next to me completely shocked me out of my stupor.

"As fearless in Death as he was in life." Was all he said, but I could feel the raw emotion behind his words. The female Imperial captain stepped forward and quickly regarded us before lifting her arm and pointing at me. Her next words chilled me to my  
already cold bones.

"Next, the Nord in rags!" There was no way she could have meant anyone other than me. The guards had moved the other soldier's body away from the block, ready for the next execution, when the roaring sound from before echoed through the valley again,  
louder this time. The Imperial who'd been crossing names from the list was definitely becoming unsettled, as were the Stormcloaks and I, though most of the other Imperial's seemed completely unfazed.

"There it is again. Did you hear that?" he asked the Imperials around him, desperately seeking comforting words from them, though he would never get them.

"I said, next prisoner!" was all the Captain had to say, grinding out each word through clamped teeth, as if any moment he'd be the next on the block. He looked over to me with a sorrowful expression, even though he didn't know me.

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy." His words were calm, almost like he was trying to calm a horse that was about to spook. I stepped forward apprehensively, not wanting to die, before a guard came behind me a pushed to the block, kicking me in the  
back of the knees to make me drop, and positioning me with my head over the block, before moving my hair away from my neck, and kneeling against my back.

I could see the headsman above me, with how I was positioned, and I could see the fading light of the sun in the fire-stroked sky of the sunset, past the watchtower and around to snowy peaks of the mountains cresting the valley. I started to mutter a  
prayer to any and all Deities I could think of, the good and the bad, when a third roar echoed through the mountain range just as the headsman started lifting his axe to take my head. The roar this time was followed by its maker, and as I saw the  
great beast, my eyes flew wide and I immediately started to try and move.

"What in Oblivion is that?" shouted Tullius, clearly annoyed and obviously worried. The Captain had begun to chew her lip before turning her head over her shoulder and shouting above the noise.

"Sentries! What do you see?" she shouted quickly.

"It's in the clouds!" shouted one of the Imperial soldiers.

The great beast flew over the city and a resounding cry of "Dragon!" came from one of the Stormcloaks, before it landed on the tower above us, growling deeply in its chest. _"Today is not your day, young one."_ Said an echoing voice in my mind.  
The dragon opened his great maw and breathed in before letting out an awful sound that seemed to shatter the air around us all. The clouds above the great beast began to shift and swirl like a great storm was brewing above before chunks of rock began  
falling from the sky. The headsman let out a weak sound as he fell away from the block and I was somewhat freed. My ears were ringing and I highly doubted that I could stand.

"Don't just stand there! Kill that thing!" shouted Tullius, as he desperately tried to rally his troops. "Guards, get the townspeople to safety!" he at least was trying to save lives. I groaned a little as the dragon lifted off the top of the tower again.

"Hey, kinsman. Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!" It was Ralof, and I assumed that he was talking to me, though I couldn't see him; I was too busy curled on the floor and feeling like I had mounds of Tundra Cotton stuffed in my brain.  
I managed to lift my head enough to see him a small distance away at the entrance of another tower. He was waving frantically at me, trying to get me to move over to him. My body felt weak and yet strong in an odd way; I could still feel the raw power  
from the dragon emanating from deep within me, drawing on and giving me strength.

I managed to stand and didn't stop to adjust, I just ran straight through the door and nearly fell face first once the door was shut and my legs gave out. Strong hands caught me and lowered me to the ground to sit, as my hands were still bound. "Jarl  
Ulfric! What is that thing?" said a strong voice close by me. "Could the legends be true?" Ralof was crouched next to me, one hand on my shoulder to keep me steady. My eyes had cleared so there was only one of everything again and I could feel my  
strength returning.

Ulfric shook his head and it took me a moment to realise he had taken his gag off. "Legends don't burn down villages. We need to move. Now!" His voice was strong, a leaders voice. Ralof and I stood and prepared to move.

"Up through the tower, let's go!" Ralof said. Another Stormcloak was nearby, tending to injured soldiers. He turned to Ulfric and they started to talk.

"They're hurt, but they'll live." He indicated the soldiers around him, curled against the tower's walls cradling injuries. "Another second out there with the dragon and they'd both be dead..." Ulfric nodded and crouched down to one of the wounded.

"Let's go! With me, up the tower!" Ralof urged at my ear, an insistent hand on my soldier. We started up the stairs and saw a couple more Stormcloaks between the levels, clearing some rubble.

"We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way!" one of the soldiers shouted. There was an odd sound outside. I moved back a couple of paces, pulling Ralof with me.

"Trust me; we need to back up a little. Something's not right here, can't you hear that sound?" My hands were pressed against his chest, my power curling through my muscles. It was at that point that something landed on the side of the tower, Ralof tumbled  
down a few more steps and I stepped after him just as the dragon's head blasted through the wall.

His eyes glowed red as blood, and he growled deep in his throat before opening his maw and spewing fire. Just before the flames licked the middle ground of the tower, I heard the growling words, echoing power; "Yol... Toor... Shul!"

The flames carried over the middle floor, burning the two soldiers clearing the rubble and licked over the top of the staircase towards Ralof and I. The fire burned at my eyes and made me flinch back away from it with a hiss. Ralof stood firm behind me,  
lifting his arms to steady me. The flames began to die down, the tower shook as the dragon took off again, and Ralof pushed me up to the singed ground and up to the hole that was left from the dragon.

"See the inn on the other side?" Ralof asked, pointing through the wall and towards a flaming, crumbling building. "Jump through the roof and keep going!" I gave him an incredulous look and lifted my bound hands to show that I'd struggle to make the jump.  
"Go! We'll follow when we can!"

I swallowed and stepped back a little before running to the edge and jumping trough the gap and into the now open top and burning inn. I curled my legs and rolled on impact, jarring my shoulder enough to cause pain, before rolling back onto my feet to  
keep running again, and dropping through into the ground floor and heading back out into the ruins of Helgen. The leftover sunlight stung my eyes, but I had to keep moving.

I went to run forward, and nearly ran into the Imperial that had had the list, gesturing frantically to a young boy, the same young boy that was sent inside by his father when we were arriving. "Haming, you need to get over here. Now!" The dragon was  
circling overhead, spewing fire and calling down more meteors, before he caught sight of the helpless boy and made a decent. "Torolf!" The imperial cried to his colleague, just as the dragon was touching down. The dragon turned and grabbed him in  
his maw, tossing his head a few times before throwing him aside and looking at us. We all saw the fire building it his belling.

"Gods... Everyone get back!" The Imperial cried, diving behind some fallen roofing where another imperial waited, pulling me and the boy – Haming – with him just as the dragon cried out the same words as before and spraying our cover with fire.

"Yol... Toor... Shul!" Just like before, I felt great power in the words, almost like something in my soul was locking into place, and then just like that, the dragon was gone again. We stood and moved around from our defence, just to double check that  
the dragon actually was gone before the red head turned to look at me.

"Still alive, prisoner?" He asked me, smirking lightly as I scowled back at him. "Keep close if you want to stay that way." He turned to the other Imperial who was with us, "Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join their defence."  
The other soldier nodded before placing a protective hand on the boys shoulder.

"Gods guide you, Hadvar." Was all he said before Hadvar and I made our way towards where I assumed the General was. We ran across the soot covered space where the dragon had landed and towards a small set of stairs when the dragon landed on the wall next  
to us.

"Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar shouted at me. I nodded and shifted closer to the wall then I already was, trying to make sure that his wings didn't make contact with my body.

"Yol... Toor... Shul!" the dragon shouted again, burning through a couple more Imperials, before taking off again.

"Quickly, follow me!" We ran up the slope and jumped the burning bodies, running through a burning house, before making it out into the streets where the General was commanding as many of his men as he could.

"Hadvar! Into the keep, soldier, we're leaving!" he shouted at Hadvar, causing a pained look to pass across the red-head's face. He nodded and we started off down the hill, under a bridge and towards the keep.

"It's you and me, prisoner. Stay close!" Hadvar told me. At the point Ralof turned up, running towards us, axe in hand. "Ralof! You damned traitor. Out of my way!" The blond curled his lip and shook his head.

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." was all he said.

"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde." Hadvar practically spat at him. I looked at the two and growled lightly in the back of my throat.

"You!" Ralof pointed at me, "Come on, into the keep!" I stared at him and raised my hands for them both to see.

"Hadvar, come with us, surly you have family that you'd like to return to?" I plead with him. I put as much sway into my words as I could in my current state of hunger. Ralof nodded and went to grab me, just as Hadvar raised his sword and cut through  
my bonds. Ralof ran towards the entrance of the keep and Hadvar went to run the other way, but with my remaining strength, I grabbed the Imperial and dragged him over towards where Ralof was waiting with the door open for us.

As we were crossing the boundaries into the building, the dragon spoke words that chilled me to the bone, though at the time I couldn't tell you why; "Hin sil fen nahkip bahloki."

Once we were inside and closer to the centre of the room, I practically threw Hadvar across the room on his arse. Ralof would have laughed if we weren't in so much danger. I stumbled a little and just managed to catch myself, as Hadvar jumped up with  
a scowl in place. "What in Oblivion was that about?!" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, Hadvar, but I couldn't leave you out there with that beast." I told him a little breathily. Ralof was quiet as he made his over to the body of a fallen Stormcloak. I looked on in pity as Ralof wished him on his way to Sovngarde.

"Hey, stop fighting. What's done is done. Now, Nyx, why don't you take Gunjar's gear, he won't be needing it anymore." Ralof told us, looking pointedly at me. I nodded and walked over to start undressing Gunjar, so that I might have his cuirass, leather  
breeches, boots, and axe. I must have looked very weak and meagre as I was trying to undress him, but Ralof came over to help me without a word. Hadvar wandered over to the doors and rattled them a little.

"This door is locked from the outside, we can't open it this way, and the other one we need a key for; which I don't have, before you ask Ralof." was his simple comment. Ralof closed his mouth and turned back towards me, taking off the last of Gunjar's  
gear for me and placing it beside me before getting up and wondering over to Hadvar, making sure that both had their backs to me. They started speaking in hushed tones, and even though my hearing was so much better than the average man or mer, I zoned  
out and just focused on getting changed.

Once I was changed, and had Gunjar's axe strapped to my side I coughed a little to clear my throat and get the attention of the two men. "Okay, so now what?" I asked, swaying a little as the adrenalin began to subside, and my hunger became almost painful.  
I hadn't feed in days, maybe a couple of weeks, I wasn't sure but I was definitely starting to feel it. I blinked a couple of times to clear my head a little.

"I don't know. That thing was a dragon. Just like the children's stories and the legends; the Harbingers of the End Times." Ralof said.

"Quiet, can't you two hear that there are people coming?" Hadvar scolded us. I scowled lightly as more hunger pains hit my stomach, before moving behind one of the wooden posts hiding me from the metal grate; Ralof on the other side while Hadvar was in  
the centre.

"Come on, let's get moving!" the distinct voice of the female Captain called to some other Imperials.

It's the Imperials!" Ralof whispered harshly. I nodded at him and we readied our weapons, while Hadvar stood a bit sheepishly in front of the gate for them to see.

"Captain, are you injured?" Hadvar inquired, concern gleaming in his chocolate eyes, even in the dim light. The Captain shook her head and heaved a silent sigh.

"No, Hadvar, I'm fine." She rested her hand on the grip of her sword and ordered the other Imperial with her to open the gate. Ralof and I shifted into a stealth battle stance; silently drawing our weapons as the mechanism was activated, drawing the gate  
up slowly. I could feel my body melding with the shadows, making me nigh invisible, and I caught the slightly, silently, stunned expressions of Ralof and Hadvar.

The gate was up, and Hadvar had backed up slightly, giving room for the other two imperials to pass the threshold into our chamber. Once they were both through and one was about to ask Hadvar a question, Ralof and I pounced. I leapt at the Captain with  
graceful fury, swinging my axe at her and striking at the hollow of her neck, just above her chest pieces protection. Itwasn't a deep wound, but it certainly stunned her enough that she shifted round to face me.

Her right arm went slack, her hand falling from her sword, as she flung her left hand up to cover the wound. I leapt towards her again, throwing my axe from my right hand into my waiting left, before reaching for the sheathed sword at her belt. My fingers  
brushed the pommel of the weapon before she stepped around and braced her wounded side against me, knocking me back. The Captain gave a sharp cry of pain as I came into contact with her, squinting hers eyes shut.

When she opened her eyes again, she gave me a pained smirk like she'd won, before the flickering candle light and glint of steel on steel behind me lit up the smooth blade hanging at my side. She looked back at my face and must have been slightly terrified  
by the slightly crazed look in my eye, before she dropped her hand to check the sheath on her hip; finding it completely empty of the heavy sword.

My eyes must have lit up like a fire; my hunger driving me nearly insane with the scent of so much blood hanging in the air. My fangs distended over my teeth as I smiled at her like the cat that finally cornered the mouse. I threw myself towards her again,  
agility and predatory instinct driving my right arm to plunge the sword through her chest, a savage growl ripping up my throat just as I sprung. She screamed, of course, before the sound was hidden by the gurgling of blood as she drowned in it.

I stepped back and pulled the sword free of her, letting her drop, just as Ralof finished off the Imperial he was fighting with a savage decapitation. I looked down at my sword arm, still poised in the same position it had been when burying the sword  
up to the hilt in the other woman, noting the blood staining up both my arms, before a feeling of dread crept over me, forcing me to drop the axe and the sword into the growing pool of crimson at my feet. I stumbled back, falling slightly into Ralof  
before I headed for a wall on the other side of the room, to try and get away from the blood.

I'd felt the sword stop against her armour before pouring my strength into it and punching it through the thin metal and her flesh, I'dheard the blade of the sword scrape harshly against her ribs and sternum before piercing though her lung and completely  
pushing through her until the blade peeked through, out of her back, bloodied and slightly blunted. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to force my way into the shadows for protection before the scent took me again.

I felt a growl stirring in my chest, building before it was released, pulling my eyes open with it, and found myself almost face to face with Ralof, Hadvar standing closely behind him with his hand poised over his sword. "Your eyes... I swear, by Talos,  
they were purple before the fight..." was all Ralof could say.

"What... Are you?" asked Hadvar. I dropped my head before slowly shaking it, my eyes falling closed briefly as a few fearful tears fell from my lashes. _I didn't want them to find out like this!_ I almost screamed at myself, before more crippling  
hunger pains clawed their way through my gut, forcing me flat to the ground to curl in on myself to try and make it stop. My mouth opened in a silent scream while my eyes stayed squeezed shut.

" _This is the price you pay..."_ The most evil voice I'd ever had the displeasure to hear chastised though my mind. My eyes flew open and I brought my blood covered hands to my mouth, flinching slightly before I took a small lick of the coagulating  
blood coating my body. As soon as it touched my tongue, the pain eased, even if only by a fraction. I briefly caught the horrified looks on Ralof and Hadvar's faces, and I could see my reflection in Ralof's blue orbs; dishevelled mess, covered in  
blood, tears streaking down my face, eyes like pools of blood so deep you could only drown, and my fangs, distended, giving me away for the monster I truly am.

I rolled myself over into my stomach and crawled slowly, painfully over to the edge of the crimson lake, reaching my hand out and drawing it back towards my mouth like one who's been so long without water and had suddenly stumbled across the most pleasant  
lake ever. I drank the blood from my fingers and palm before reaching for more. My mind was a haze, I couldn't control myself much more, and yet there were still two living men in the room with me.

A sudden image flashed through me, a chilling memory; a cold, stone alter, surrounded in snow. I was chained to it, screaming, pleading for my father to let me go before _**He**_ came. My tears were freezing to my pale face as fast  
as they were falling. I remembered my father shaking his head with watery eyes, but he continued his chant to the Lord of Domination regardless. This was the day that everything had changed; my whole world had shifted so drastically it was painful.  
As suddenly as the memory hit me, it was gone, and I found myself now kneeling in the middle of the pool, head bowed with my hands clutching painfully at my hair.

"I never asked for this!" I screamed to the gods above, hoping they would hear and help me. Ralof and Hadvar looked horrified as more tears silently fell from my eyes. I hung my head again, reaching slowly for the sword to my right, the same one that  
I'd used to slay the Captain, before throwing it over towards Hadvar. "Do it. I'm a creature of evil; it's only what I deserve..." I said miserably. I'm not sure what happened with those two but they must have come to an agreement about me, seeing  
as the next thing I felt was a hand on my shoulder while I heard someone searching the bodies for the key that would let us continue.

"You saved me. Now we're even." was all Hadvar said, though it was enough to jar me out of my numb state. I looked at him, and saw my reflection in his dark eyes, showing that my fangs had rescinded and my eyes were amethyst once again.

"It wasn't enough... I'll need more, I always do..." I whispered pathetically. Hadvar dropped his hand from my shoulder and shrugged. He turned and headed the way the imperials had come from, returning a few moments later with some imperial gear and a  
couple of iron swords.

"We can take this and sell it when we get home. I even found a few Septims." was all he said when he came back, giving Ralof a pointed look. He lifted me up and handed me a sword and a dagger that he'd found. I settled the sword into my right hand and  
the dagger into my left, judging the weight, before sheathing them at my side. They weren't the best, but they'd do for now.

"I've found the key and a couple of Septims on these two as well. We'd do well to get out of here now." Ralof said, standing up and heading over to the locked gate and unlocking it in a matter of seconds. I took a breath to steel myself before stepping  
forward, Hadvar standing a little behind me to make sure I didn't fall again.

We stepped through the gate and followed the hallway down the winding stairs, sounds of the dragon's onslaught still echoing inside the keep, though we hadn't noticed until then. At the bottom of the stairs we veered off to the right, through a small  
corridor section before entering a larger chamber with a large set of wooden doors set into the left hand side of the wall. "This way!" Hadvar said, starting to head down the long corridor. I grabbed the back of his armour, just as the dragon roared  
again and a large section of the ceiling collapsed in, filling the corridor.

"I guess we're heading through here, then." Ralof said, starting to push the doors open, into another large room. I could smell herbs and what I thought was rabbit ahead of us, before I also scented the metallic, heady, smell of steel on steel and blood.  
Ralof charged in after a brief look and struck one of the fighters down; an imperial as we would find out, in order to save one of his Stormcloak brethren, who tried to attack Hadvar when he and I entered the room.

Hadvar quickly drew his sword and threw it up to defend himself from his attacker while Ralof stood back, stunned. I threw myself between the two, and with the extra strength from the blood, pushed the two apart, allowing the Stormcloak to drop his sword  
slightly and cut across my face. I turned my face away as the sting of metal bit into my flesh, growling from deep in my throat before lifting my head again and showing glowing scarlet eyes, and sneering lightly to show my distended fangs at him.  
He backed up, if only from shock, but that gave Hadvar the chance he needed to run the poor fool through.

My cheek was in the process of knitting the parted flesh back together when Hadvar turned to me, gently holding my chin to turn my face for him to inspect the wound. He was a little shocked, that much I could see, but he gently dropped his hand and sheathed  
his weapon. "This is an old supply store. There may be some potions around." He said gently. Ralof, now snapped out of his daze, quickly headed over to the far side of the room, by a table with some rabbits and other ingredients on it, palming what  
he could into a small bag he'd found.

I wondered over to the shelves by the table not too far from us and picked up a few potions, searching some cupboards for anything and finding gold, while Hadvar searched in some barrels for more potions. I summoned a small portal to Oblivion and stored  
what I didn't need in there, before gently taking the items off of Hadvar that he could no longer carry and storing those as well.

We carried on through the keep, turning through the maze like corridors before we headed into an underground area, past a small bridge that collapsed under more rubble shortly after we'd crossed it. By this point I'd managed to recover a bow and a quiver  
full of arrows from some more slain imperials, and more coin as well. We'd looted most of their gear, but opening portals to Oblivion to store everything was beginning to take its toll on me.

We'd been following a stream in the cavern before us and I could sense something ahead, so I got into a sneak position, the other two following suit behind me, before moving carefully forwards until we stopped at the top of a small crest of dirt. We'd  
have to climb down before we could proceed, but it was an even slope, so it wasn't too bad. I could see the giant spiders before us and I quickly knocked and arrow into the long bow in my hand, feeling generally at peace with the weapon.

I quickly loosed the fist arrow and killed one spider but now the others were alert. I knocked another arrow and fired again, killing another, and that was how it went until they were all dead. "What next, giant snakes?" Hadvar muttered under his breath,  
drawing a small smile from my lips. We carried on through the cavern, veering through another passage into another large cave. The water was flowing through this one, after being closed off and not being able to enter the other one.

"Quiet, there's a bear over there." Ralof whispered as we wondered further into the cavern. "It's your call; we can either sneak past or you can take that bow of yours and try and take her by surprise." I nodded as I crouched into a sneak position again,  
before turning to them and whispering that we'd leave her be and sneak round. They nodded and we traversed the rocky cavern as best we could, before we were well out of her sight and earshot and we stood and ran towards the scent of fresh air.

"Oh, at last!" Hadvar said breathily. "I was beginning to think we'd never make it out." I smirked a little before flinching back as we broke through into fresh sunlight. The low hanging sun, sinking behind the mountains showed that it was later but not  
by a great amount of time. A dark, great shadow passed over us as we stopped, breathing the fresh air in gulps.

Our backs straightened as we dove behind the nearest boulder to hide from the retreating shadow. "Where do you think he's heading?" Ralof quietly asked. I shrugged before Hadvar straightened again.

"Perhaps he's moving on to Riverwood; it's in that direction..." he trailed off, leaving a worried look on his and Ralof's faces. I sighed before wincing in pain, and moving my left hand to hold at my right side. It was sticky, which wasn't good, and  
I know that I'd been shot by an arrow through the right side of my belly, but I'd broken the shaft off and pulled the head out, letting the wound try and heal closed. I knew another soldier had cut under my left arm, at the top of my chest, but that  
wasn't that important, neither was the nasty gash on my forehead where someone had pommel- butted me, splitting the skin and leaving a trail of blood.

"No offence to you, but I doubt he'd go after some small hamlet not even worth really remembering..." I muttered through gritted teeth. I was too badly injured to properly heal and the hunger pains were coming back; after all, dead blood can only do so  
much before it's run its course. "And not to bring a downer, but I... I need more..." I left the sentence hanging knowing they'd get the drift.

"We'll get you to Riverwood to rest. Will any blood do?" Ralof inquired while Hadvar helped me stand up. I nodded before pointing in one direction and noting that there were some animals of some kind down that way. They nodded before Hadvar lifted my  
right arm over his shoulder, letting me lean on him as we started on the way to Riverwood.

We'd mostly made it there, stopping briefly at the guardian stones (where I chose the blessing of the thief; it felt most right for me), before three wolves came towards us, eyeing me up. My eye changed and I stood a little straighter as my remaining  
strength took me. The animals whimpered lightly before steeling themselves and preparing to attack. Ralof prepared himself for battle, but I stopped him as I stepped forward. "You don't want to see this. Back up to the stones. Come back in a few minutes.  
And, by the Gods, don't turn your backs and don't run." I growled out. I saw Ralof shudder and guessed Hadvar had too, but they heeded my advice and went back to the stones.

I lunged at the first wolf, all fangs and claws and killed it in a few seconds, while the others jumped me, one going for my throat, while the other went for my injured side. I quickly dispatched of them before lunging onto the first dead wolf, biting  
through the soft skin of its neck, sinking my fangs into its main artery and losing myself as the blood flowed through into me. My mind became a lusty haze and once I'd finished that one, I quickly ripped into the second, pulling its heart out and  
draining the blood inside the organ before plunging my hands back inside and soaking them, pulling them back out and drinking up the metallic nectar.

I turned to the third wolf; this one was still alive, barely. It held a chunk of my side in its maw, but I crawled over and stoked its snout before quickly biting into its throat and draining that one too. I sat there for a time in a heady, lusty, blood  
induced trance, not really noticing that I wasn't healing yet, until the boys returned. I looked at them and smiled; the kind of smile that only the most sated can achieve, before I slumped and fell into blackness.

* * *

Ralof and Hadvar looked on in horror. The girl had slaughtered the animals, her face and arms covered in blood that was quickly drying to her, sticking into her long hair and clumping it together. They looked at each other and wondered into the carnage,  
picking up the lithe girl and walking her to the edge of the flowing river beside them. Hadvar took off her boots and her fur vembraces, while Ralof worked on taking off her blood soaked tunic and breeches.

Before long, she was laid before them, wearing only some blood stained undergarments and bindings to keep away their prying eyes, her pale flesh exposed to the rising glow of the twin moons, Masser and Secunda. Hadvar tore some material from her blood  
soaked tunic, washing it in the flow of the river before handing the damp rags to Ralof so that he could wash her down, and picking up her boots and breeches to take to another part of the river slightly further down to try and wash.

She had insisted that one of them carry the mages robes and hood that she'd taken from a cage in the torture chamber and now the two men were glad of it. Ralof silently inspected her wounds before noting that they had already begun to heal, and he continued  
to wash her down. Her silently took the mages clothes from his pack and carefully dressed her, even taking out a spare pair of breeches that they'd come across to put on her.

After some time, she was free of blood, her hair; though slightly damp at the ends, was free of clumping mounds of soot and dried blood, and she was remotely modest again, save that she wasn't wearing her boots, as Hadvar hadn't long finished washing  
them and they were drying. Ralof gently lifted her into his arms, careful not to jostle her too much, while Hadvar picked up their things and they continued on.

Ralof couldn't help but wonder at the small girl passed out in her powerful arms. She looked like she could barely lift a sword and yet, he knew, she could easily over power him and she could kill him in a heartbeat, should she truly wish it. He shook  
his head as he and Hadvar passed through into their home of Riverwood.

"We'll take her to the inn and rent her a room there for a few nights. We've enough coin to do it and Delphine wouldn't mind." Ralof said. Hadvar nodded, not really listening but followed anyway. They passed through the doors of the Sleeping Giant Inn,  
and made straight over to the smaller blonde woman who owned the establishment, handing her some coin and asking her which room was theirs. She pointed over towards two doors beside each other and briefly side that theirs would be the one to the right  
before they wondered into the room, and Ralof gently placed the girl on the bed, while Hadvar carefully placed all of their weapons in the corner by the door. They'd be back regularly to check on her, but for now, she needed to rest.

* * *

noshade=""

 **Well, that's the first chapter of my new Skyrim story! Hope you all enjoy it, and please remember to review! Thanks again!**


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